You guys are too much....
I am always confused when people try to compare the itouch to their favorite pmp. It makes little sense to do this... its like comparing a HD LCD TV to a PC with LCD screen with a TV card. You would never do that... would you? Not to mention also wish the HD TV could record a show...

The itouch is a computer with its own os, wifi that also plays music and videos. Since it has an os, focus is on exclusive apps and a media store... not media features. The P3 and S9 are true media players with focus on media playback,expansive file support, sound quality and minimal file conversion. They have some limited computer features like flash and bluetooth support but they are not computers even if they have processor chips inside.

I am a mac user... I also use PC due to work and another machine at home. You can't agrue that Mac understands user interfaces and ergonomics. There business exists today because of it. The fact that everyone attempts these comparisons further supports it.The user needs to decide if they want a pocket player or pocket computer. I had a ipod and moved to iriver then cowon so apple lovers can't all be bad .

The way I see it, if you're at the point where you're comparing the touch and the p3...just go with the p3.

What I mean is...if the features that the touch has 'over' the P3 (wi-fi, accelerometer etc.) haven't already swayed you, they probably won't sustain your interest.

I played around with the touch first (my dad has one), and it was fun. I never considered getting one though, because within an hour of playing around with it, I realized I didn't want to browse websites on the small screen anymore. And as much as the games/apps may be fun, there are always better ones on proper computers...and I can wait to get home. (I realize some people can't/won't...that is their choice, and they would be better off with a touch if that is the case).

I'm getting a P3 soon, as a replacement for my broken P2. I chose the P2/P3 over an touch, not because I blindly 'hate' iPods...but because I quite thoughtfully 'hate' iTunes, the lack of radio on iPods, and the seemingly inflated pricetags on most Apple products. The P2/P3 has everything I want: wide compatibility (software and codecs), radio, good price, bluetooth, great sound and screen.

The most important thing is deciding what features are the highest priority for you. Once you've decided that, it should be a pretty simple arithmetic. And if it's really that close, then the differences between the two obviously aren't large enough to worry about!

1. Is cost a factor?
2. Is a wider range of file support a factor?
3. Is sound quality a factor?
4. Is having a player primarily focused on apps more appealing than a player that is primarly focused on audio/video playback?

2. Is a wider range of file support a factor?
3. Is sound quality a factor?
4. Is having a player primarily focused on apps more appealing than a player that is primarly focused on audio/video playback?-

If you answer yes to the first 3 questions then get a P3.

If you answer yes to 4 than get a iPod Touch.

How many times do i have to say it. 'flash support' means you have tons of apps like a photo editor

lol...I was reading dexterslabs post and my God...applehead :P...
I went for the P3 because -
Ipod Touch 16GB was £199 and the P3 was £129
The touch doesnt play xvid and divx files, the P3 does
I prefer my laptop for internet based stuff, dont need Wifi on a player
The SQ factor blew me away when I compared an ipod touch to the P3

I use Windows and Linux by the way... havent tried Mac OS yet, would love to but cant afford their super expensive hardware..

I HATE itunes and Apple to an extent. I have been using itunes since 2003 and my pc just recently crashed and I didn’t have everything backed up. Apple refused to let me download some of my music again…my fault but after buying music for 6 years from them I thought that was a little crappy. It was only around 6 CDs. However I did have that music on my ipod but I couldn’t find a way to get the music off my ipod to save it back to my pc. I ended up having to download a program called “ipod to pc transfer”. The free version means you have to go through about 5 steps just to save one song…major pain in the butt.

So I decided I wanted to get away from apple and decided to go with the P3. Well I have all this AAC music and most of it with DRM on it but I want everything in MP3 format. So I have to go into the itunes setting, change the import setting to “MP3”, made an audio cd of the album, then import it off of the cd I just made. WHAT A PAIN IN THE @$$!1!1!!one!!1

So to me Apple has just made everything a major pain. Apple = audio bondage as far as I’m concerned. I want nothing to do with itunes ever again unless it’s 100% DRM free (I know they are working on it). I just want that freedom where I don’t have to deal with all that crap.

Now I will say this…the apple/itunes store has tons of great music and movies and all that business. They have done a great job with that. They also created an amazing and innovative product with iphone/touch. That said, what they have done in my opinion is created a very innovative “jack of all trades” gimmicky toy. I think all the apps are really cool and I’m a gamer as well so I think the games on it are great as well. That said I just don’t see it as a serious player because truth be told Apple has concentrated more apps than music and video playback. I mean they have this amazing powerful little toy and yet the sound is decent at best. That’s just not acceptable in my opinion. I mean game on these players is great but when games get more attention from apple than the quality of the music…well that’s just not what I’m looking for in a player….but hey that’s just how I see it.

The only thing I would really want a touch for is the internet radio streaming. Other than that I would take a P3 over it any day.

Like what all the others have been saying about the touch, its more a multimedia/internet device, whereas the P3 is very good, it seems to have pleased a few audiophiles even and while I dont claim to be one, the music I've listened to over the past 3 days has been beautiful coming from the P3 even though they're mediocre 160kbps mp3's!

My sennheiser PC151 headset makes listening to internet radio from my laptop very easy and pleasurable, so I am covered when it comes to the radio.
Being able to watch my DVD backups without converting them to another intermediate format is a great thing!

And finally the price, I dont know what profit margin Sammy has but the player is definitely good value with its heft and beautiful touchscreen.

I have to add 1 thing. If the sq is anything like my S9, and I have a Touch 2G to compare it to, then the P3 kicks the crap out of the Touch. I can't listen to the touch since I've tried my S9, and you'll feel the same when you get the P3. And, there's loads of games that work w/the P3 (both the S9 and P3 can play the same games), and their all free!!!

The nice thing about the P3, the S9, and the Touch, is that you can get unique features on each that are not available on the others. Some features are worth more than others, and as such move that device's price above the others. Music on the Touch is tollerable, and most people won't notice what's mssing along that thread. As a media device it's OK and as a PDA it's better. Neither the P3 or the S9 do PDA (email, calendar) worth doing, but they make up with FM radio, Flash support, User customization, etc.. If music matters they also sound better and let you play with your music quality far more than you can on the Touch. Just to tease the S9 has a G-sensor that has been opened up to compete with the Touch's. The Touch will be getting bluetooth but won't be getting all the bluetooth features the P3 has. The P3 teases with it's haptic vibe woofer. I enjoy the little haptic kick I get from my iriver SPINN, and suspect Samsung will lead the pack with haptic integration that no current Touch has any clue about.

I've used a friends touch for a while, the music doesnt compare at all with what you get from a 'normal' dnse setting(ed) P3 and a good pair of earphones.
Elaborately speaking, the ipod's much touted music is BS.

I should've said 129.99 + 3.99 shipping.. I bought mine off hughes direct for that price. However.. they seem to have run out of stock... hmm, I seem to have been lucky... plus, I ordered through Amazon uk..and they've got the same 'Temporarily out of stock' message up too..